Si a alguien lesirve...
We spoke to DVD/supplements producer Michael Felsher (pictured) here about his work on the upcoming MONSTER SQUAD DVD, and he also gave Fango the scoop on another ’80s horror fave he’s contributing to: a new, extras-packed disc of the George A. Romero/Stephen King anthology chiller CREEPSHOW for British release by Universal. “I’ve known George for years,” Felsher explains. “I used to work at Anchor Bay, and collaborated with him on projects there like DAWN OF THE DEAD, and I’m also supervising all the behind-the-scenes stuff on his new DIARY OF THE DEAD. He has always said he would love to see CREEPSHOW come back out. I found out that Universal has the UK rights, and was preparing to come out with a disc that was kind of bare-bones. So I sent them a proposal, and they called that release off and hired me to do the special edition for the UK. The plan is to have it out before Halloween of this year.”
Among the supplements Felsher is putting together is, of course, a commentary by Romero and FX creator Tom Savini. “It was very enjoyable,” Felsher says of that recording experience. “It was George and Tom going back down memory lane in George’s living room, so they had a great time. I’m also making a documentary, and have been shooting people all over the place for that; the plan is to include as many people who were involved in the film as possible.”
One interviewee yielded an unexpected bonus for the project, as Felsher relates: “A couple of days ago, my cameraman and I interviewed Rick Catizone, who did the animated segments with the comic-book clippings, the Creep and all that. We got there to interview him, and he was a wonderful guy, and he brought some stuff he had in storage. He whipped out original hand-painted cels from CREEPSHOW, and I was just flipping out! And then he pulled out the original hand-colored comic book pages from the shots where you see the comic flip open. That was the kind of moment where your brain just short-circuits and you pass out. So we’ve got photos of all that stuff, plus footage of a scene where Ted Danson’s severed hand comes after Leslie Nielsen that was cut out of the film…it’s going to be good!”
Like the MONSTER SQUAD disc, the new edition of CREEPSHOW is a personal project for the longtime fright fan. “CREEPSHOW was the first horror movie I ever saw, and George is my all-time favorite filmmaker,” he says. “I’m constantly thinking, ‘Just how is it that I’m working on this and MONSTER SQUAD and all these movies I’ve loved throughout the years?’ I was lucky that I worked on DIARY OF THE DEAD, because I met the cameraman I’ve been working with on these projects, and he’s been doing a wonderful job. It’s just too damn good to be true.”
Anything else? “Yeah, I’m also working on a documentary about FACES OF DEATH for Dark Sky Films!” More on that one in the near future… —Michael Gingold
